A Prince's Help
by LordGodsServant
Summary: Zuko makes his desiscion to help the Avatar right after "The Awakening" in Season 3.  But why should he leave the palace, as a prince he can help the Avatar from behind the scenes.  What if Zuko used his Princely status to help the Gaang?


_Prologue_

* * *

_Unless the Avatar was still alive, then all that honor would suddenly turn to shame._

* * *

Nothing was right. How could he have been so stupid as to think that his father would actually accept him if it wasn't related to the Avatar. Azula had used him, again. Now he was sitting on a metaphorical cliff looking at the jagged rocks below. If Katara had used the Spirit Oasis water, actually there was no if about it, Zuko knew her well enough to know that she would've used it to heal the Avatar. Anyway, the Avatar was alive and Zuko could bet his scar that he would be leading the invasion force. That meant that he was sitting on borrowed time.

True he had felt great when his father had praised him, but all that turned to horror when he realized that Azula was merely using him as her human shield to take the fall in case the Avatar was alive. She'd be dad's favorite anyway.

Now, as Zuko walked among the gardens that he and his mother had visited so often he contemplated what he should do. When his father found out that he hadn't killed the Avatar, he wouldn't banish him again, would he?

Unbidden, what sounded like Iroh's voice came to his head "_yes he would, he didn't mind banishing you for talking out of turn."_

Zuko gritted his teeth, how could he think that, Iroh had betrayed the Fire Nation, he had no place in Zuko's thoughts anymore. But the thought was hollow and the thought suddenly struck him that by not listening to Iroh when he urged him not to join with Azula had placed him in a worse position than before. When his father found out that the Avatar was alive he would be ten times as angry as when Zuko spoke out of turn.

Zuko didn't know what to do, which was starting to become a norm in his life. His loyalties were consistently called into question, his father that he tried to please seemed that he would never be so, and after viewing the war from the other side he found he just couldn't forget the faces of the Earth Kingdom peasants, peering terrified out of there doors as the Fire Nation marched into their great city.

"_I will never betray my country!" _Zuko thought vehemently. But then Iroh's voice seemed to speak as a sort of conscience again "_are you sure you aren't confusing the word "country" with the word "father?"_

Zuko stopped dead and stared straight ahead of him, coming to realization. He'd never differentiated between betraying his father and betraying his country. Maybe in order to help the Fire Nation he had to get it to stop inflicting all this misery on the rest of the world.

But as soon as these thoughts emerged they were immediately slammed back by the thought that, if he tried anything remotely along those lines, his father would never love him again.

"_But does he love you now?"_ that annoying Iroh-voice sounded once again.

"Quiet!" Zuko snapped, it was a good thing he was alone, because anyone seeing him tell no one in particular to be quiet might be a bit curious.

"_If he really loved you, why did he banish you for merely speaking out of turn? If he really loves you why does it all depend on whether you've killed an innocent 12-year-old boy or not?"_

"Shut up!" snarled Zuko, but the voice was on a roll.

"_If he really loved you, why did he order Azula to capture you after the Siege of the Northern Water Tribe?"_

"Shut u-" Zuko began but stopped abruptly as he considered what his conscience, or whatever it was, had said. He remembered that the Water Tribe siblings, there father had wanted to spend time with them. He actually wanted them around. Katara had been nice to him, willing to forgive, even after all he'd done. And Iroh, who'd been with him, throughout nearly every dark day of his banishment. How had Zuko repaid him, with a knife in the back.

The Avatar wanted to bring peace to the world, not destroy the Fire Nation. Zuko knew that the Avatar would have to face the Firelord, no doubt about that. But then who would take the throne after that? Azula, she was too much like Ozai. Zuko didn't think that the Avatar would want him and if he was honest he wasn't sure he would make a good Firelord himself. No, if anyone should take the throne, it should be Iroh. But he was locked away in jail.

Zuko needed to remain loyal to the nation, and he detested the way they treated the world. So what could he do?

Then the thought occurred. He was still a prince at the moment, was he not? He had influence. He could command respect and tell many people to do whatever he wanted. The idea was insane, and yet he saw no other way of helping the Avatar at the moment. He could jerk a good many strings.

He would use his Prince status, to help the Avatar.


End file.
